Count Bass D

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(Photo by: Sasha Maslov)

The rapper with the most chords -- Dwight Conroy Farrell is internationally known as rapper, producer and multi instrumentalist Count Bass D. He has worked with Snoop Dogg, MF DOOM, Prince Paul, Van Hunt and more. His extensive solo discography spans two decades and includes his breakthrough classic Dwight Spitz. He gains much notoriety to this day for his vocal and production work on MF DOOM’s 2004 release of “Potholderz.” Many have heard of Dwight’s moniker and work over the past two decades but still don’t know exactly how to confine him to a musical category. The self-described "Fender Rhodes Scholar" has augmented his skills as a multi-instrumentalist by truly mastering the art of sampling as well as the art of intellect. He has proven his ability to push the envelope both sonically and lyrically. His body of work arguably displays the widest range of any rapper to date.

Instantly New is the first Count Bass D vocal album since 2011’s Mic & Ike. His latest effort lives up to it’s name with universal lyrics about who he is as a result of what he has been through, seen and learned. All music is played and programmed with no samples. Instantly New is Count with a virtuosity previously unseen by a rap artist.

Count Bass D began his musical journey in his father’s church where he played drums at age four and later took lessons for piano and organ. He was awarded a scholarship to Wyoming Seminary College Preparatory school in Kingston, Pennsylvania where he discovered the fundamentals of many instruments along with advanced levels of music theory.

After prep school, he attended Middle Tennessee State University for a year and was able to garner a great deal of attention musically in the local area. This quickly landed him his first record deal with Sony Music Entertainment in December of 1993 through Pete Nice of 3rd Bass.

Soon after the release of Pre-Life Crisis in 1995, he met Eothen “Egon” Alapatt in a record store in Nashville and soon learned they had the same love and passion for records. They hosted a radio show called the “911 Emergency Show” for four years at 91.1 WRVU FM, Vanderbilt University. Count explored traditional electronic Hip Hop music after observing a session with The Beatnuts in 1996. He released his album “Art For Sale” (Spongebath Records) in 1999. Count took partly a singer-songwriter’s approach instead of merely a traditional rapper.

Again praised by critics, Art For Sale like Pre-Life Crisis fascinated but also confused audiences as he stood alone in the Hip Hop world with no comparable rapper in sight.

MF DOOM contacted Count in 2001 to record for his Metal Face Records imprint. Count was working on Dwight Spitz and wanted to have it validate him in the traditional Hip Hop community. He began heavily using samples and also the Akai MPC drum machine series. “I wanted to make sure my authenticity would never be questioned again by the purists in the Hip Hop community.” The record has gone on to become a universally heralded classic. Recently reissued on vinyl as a “Deluxe Edition” on Thrash Flow, Dwight Spitz features MF DOOM on two tracks and a host of other Hip Hop notables such as Edan and J. Rawls. Preview and purchase Dwight Spitz and other Count Bass D releases below.